Beach Replenishment in New Jersey - Ellicott ...

Ellicott Case Studies

Beach Replenishment in New Jersey

Local dredging contractor aids suburbs in hurricane flood relief,

restores natural habitat, and builds beaches.

Trevcon's 12 in., 370HP Ellicott cutter suction (CS) dredge

deepening Wreck Pond, New Jersey, USA

Wreck Pond is an 80 acre natural resource, spawning herring and home of the piping plover and is situated in an east to west by northwest attitude near the Atlantic Ocean. The pond is also a natural boundary between the wealthy suburbs of Sea Girt and Spring Lake, New Jersey whose beaches provide summer recreation for tourists. The New Jersey tourism industry provides 400,000 jobs for the state’s workers and generates US$30B for its economy.

Though the pond has no real human use, it overflowed as a result of the 2005 hurricane season into Spring Lake town. Wreck Pond is located some 400 ft to 500 ft from the Atlantic Ocean and receives tidal flows through a 7.0 ft dia. pipeline. The hurricanes’ radical tides filled the pond with sand and clogged the pipeline, flooding Spring Lake.

In addition to coming to the aid of Spring Lake to clear the pipeline and drain the town from flooding, a technical study was underway as part of the New Jersey Coastal Initiative Program to extend the Pond’s pipeline 400 ft into the ocean to improve tidal flow, providing a better spawning ground for herring and wildlife, and building the beach on the Atlantic side.

Marine contractor Trevcon Construction Co. of Liberty Corner, NJ won the contract under the direction of Ron Treveloni. Though it has performed mechanical bucket dredging, the company never owned a hydraulic dredge and always subcontracted dredging work in the past.

Dredge operator Ed Whitehurst

Trevcon decided to purchase a 12 in., Ellicott 370 cutter suction (CS) dredge in October 2005 after 17 years of performing pier and dock construction.

Dredging began in mid-December 2005 and continued through mid-March 2006, removing some 80,000 yd3 of sand from Wreck Pond and deepening it from 3.0 ft to 7.0 ft. The area dredged was a roughly 10 to 20 ac. portion of the pond close to the ocean.

The sand was discharged 5,000 ft via pipeline for beach replenishment at Spring Lake and Sea Girt beaches on the ocean side.

Sand is discharged 5,000 ft via pipeline for beach replenishment

at Spring Lake and Sea Girt beaches on the ocean side

Goose and duck excretions having accumulated at the north west portion of the pond over the years, and with tidal flow depositing it on the beaches, have caused beach closings in the past. These will be dredged and treated at a later date, according to Mr. Treveloni.

Source: Cover Story WORLD DREDGING Mining & Construction, February 2006